The Washington Court of Appeals held that a Washington-based consulting firm was not entitled to a refund of Washington Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax because the taxpayer failed to show that the benefit of services provided to its client were received outside of Washington.

The taxpayer provided technology information services to a number of software companies, such as “translating client…

In this installment of Across State Lines in Tax Notes State, Eversheds Sutherland Senior Counsel Eric Coffill interviews Shane Hofeling, now chief counsel of the California Franchise Tax Board’s Technical Resources Bureau.In their conversation, Shane shares insights on his vision for the Legal Division, the evolving role of artificial intelligence at the FTB, collaboration between Legal and Audit, the impact of federal…

The California Franchise Tax Board’s method of taxing banks and financial institutions is consistently complex, and a bit messy. This complexity would worsen under the January budget proposal of California Governor Gavin Newsom to tax banks (and savings and loans) using single-sales-factor apportionment.

In this installment of “A Pinch of SALT” published by Tax Notes State, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Eric Coffill…

The Virginia Court of Appeals recently held that the Virginia Department of Taxation cannot make it a requirement for a corporation to include the income and factors of a 17% owned LLC with its own income and factors as a unitary business. The taxpayer obtained the interest in question in exchange for the sale of several travel centers to a…

In this article, originally published by CalCPA in the January/February 2025 issue of California CPA, Eversheds Sutherland Senior Counsel Eric Coffill spotlights the recent disappearance of Technical Advice Memorandums (TAMs) from the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) website.

Read the full article here.

In this article originally published by CalCPA in the May 2024 issue of California CPA, Eversheds Sutherland Senior Counsel Eric Coffill explores the number of options available when trying to obtain advice from the FTB on planning and policy issues.

Read the full article here.

The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held that the purchase of “discounted” cell phones bundled together with wireless services requires payment of sales tax based on the cell phone’s full price.

Plaintiffs purchased cell phones at a reduced cost, together with wireless services, in a “bundled transaction.” The bundled transaction included the taxable sale of tangible…